Hell of a Quarter

So this quarter absolutely sucked. I've hadn't felt that bad in a long, long time. However, Thursday and Friday made it all worthwhile! Went to Kevin Burkhalter's party on Thursday and hung out for a while (which is kind of unusual for me). Then Friday, I took part in the SEQALAB podcast, so I'd like to thank everyone that let me join in. Had to share a mic with Brett Muller (you have to get real close to them, so we were practically making out the whole time... calm down, ladies). I really recommend listening to that stuff. It's good for having on in the background when you're drawing (which is exactly how I'd discovered it... two nights previous...). After that, some of us went bowling for Pranas' birthday. That was a sorry display for most involved (except Wheeler) but still was hella fun! Plus I almost fell over!

So the end totally justified the entire quarter. So did the way my finals looked! I'll be putting those up here gradually, as I see fit. Here's the first, a series of covers for the comic I've been working for. I did these for Tom Lyle's visual storytelling class. I'm really happy with the way these came out. I also got him to sign my Robin trades, which I'm psyched about!


PS: I see the mistake on this one. I'm going to edit it when I get a chance

Another stip!!

Weeha! I's a lil drunked tonight. Here's another strip. I know there are no background, but I was totally in the middle of some kind of work. I dunno, I had a bad quarter and it's over now so I'm happy.

Concerned that the line between me and Andy is fading. Today I said several things in webspeak... Worrying.

MAD SKILLZ

Captain Ahab

This is some old stuff from Larison's Pencil & Inking I class (which is now called Visual Storytelling). It's a futuristic Ahab hunting whales in space. I'm pretty sure it was originally published in Heavy Metal some time ago (not my version... I wish!) and I don't know who wrote it, so I send my apologies to whoever authored this script! These are just pencils, so they're bound to look sketchy. Derp!

RELAUNCH!

Man, I hate it when you find an awesome blog (like this one) and then notice that the blogger in charge of updating it is too preoccupied to bother to update it (like me)! So here it is, the first new post in, like, freakin' forever!

I went through a nasty creative slump this past summer, like to the point where I didn't want to draw comics anymore... Just read them... ALL THE TIME!! But now I'm safely back into it, it just took a little inspiration.

Bailey moved out of town, so I don't get to see her all the time anymore, and that's kind of depressing. I kind of attribute her absence to my lack of work ethic, appetite loss and general feeling of lethargy. We visit and have Skype and Webcams, so it's all cool really (get your mind out of the gutter).

Anyhow, I picked up where I left off with Andy The Retard... The only problem was that last Quarter, my strips got printed sporadically, which kind of spaced out my continuity (the last of my strips didn't even get printed, which threw a big spanner into... my face). So I decided to screw the storyline in one big strip and start over with just gags and stuff. Here's the first of many!

INDEFINITE CRISIS/TOASTER PASTRIES

The Andy strips had gotten far too overproduced for my liking. The tones and everything looked cool, but the strip lost that harsh black and white look that I loved about those first strips. I'd gotten too far from what I'd started, so I went back to basics and I think the strip does better for it!

There! Consider this blog relaunched!

Finals

I'm still alive and I'm pouring all my efforts into my finals right now, but after that, I'll have lots of goodies to post! See you soon!

-Martyn

Joe Bevill

Yes, the latest Andy The Retard strip features my good friend Joe Bevill! AND HERE IT IS!!
Yes, here it is over a week before the District will print it!

ANDY ALERTS THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Things are going well enough for me. On Thursday, I'll have been together with Bailey for two years and it feels like a birthday! Fun! I've made peace at work with my hated co-worker. I've bought some lovely out of print comic books. It just keeps getting better!

Bye my darlings!

Andy The Retard: Katfall

A new quarter begins and you'd think that'd mean new Andy, but NOT SO!! I've only got two strips done so far! I blame Larison... and Kneece... and my girlfriend. She's great.

This quarter, I set out on a new Andy story arc called "Katfall," which is loosely based on the Knightfall story arc from Batman in 1994. Here are parts one and two of the arc!

ANDY'S BRAND NEW WII
HAWK ATTACK

News and that

Yes it's true! I haven't been posting and no, I don't love you anymore. I released a new mini comic which was AWFUL! The content was great, but the printing was such poor quality. After going to the Zine Fair here in Savannah, I realized that my minis were not as awesomely made as I though. In fact, they were pretty standard. That's not good enough, if you ask me. I've discontinued all of my minis and will be reprinting them in deluxe editions with color covers and including my Winter Comixtravaganza piece.

Here are the remaining strips to bring us up to date with Andy. I just stopped posting them here, but they've still been being featured in the District. I'm about to embark on a new story arc, so this should bring everyone up to speed (not that it really matters for the new arc). So here's what you missed...

ANDY'S DATE

SCORE
DEPTH

And as for Comixtravanagnza, here is the "Andy The Retard VS. Nathan Pretzelberger: Battle Royal!" I've added some corrections that I didn't spot in time for it being published. So here it is, the version you DIDN'T see that I WANTED you to see...



So now we're even, ok? Stay tuned, my pretties!

Oops!

I've been slacking off! Sorry!

ANDY'S DATE WITH MEL

It kinda sucks, this one got elongated in print to cut off my name and plug at the bottom. I don't mind that being cut off, but I'm upset about the unconstrained proportions. Ah well.

I feel like I've been doing lots of work, but have nothing to show for it!! BWARG!
Next time, I think I'll post the best of my Simpsons storyboards.

A New Andy!

Here it is! The new Andy! and good news too! Due to rising standards (and believe me, I swear I use the word rising without a TRACE of sarcasm) Andy is no longer going to be titled as "Andy The" or even "@ndy!" Nope! I am proud to announce that Andy The Retard will now be titled "Andy The Retard" and I'd like to extend my thanks to Michael Jewel for allowing it! So... nice one, there!

JAMES BELITTLES ANDY

Also, more good news! Coming at the end of the quarter will be "ANDY: YEAR ONE." It's a clear play on the fabulous graphic novel known as "Batgirl: Year One" by Scott Beatty. This new mini will be in the same half-size format pioneered in the "ANDY STRIPS" mini, which collected all the pre-District strips and is still for sale... "ANDY: YEAR ONE" collects all the strips in the district leading up to the "Catfall" stroyline. More on that next quarter.

No progress on the "Andy Comics" mini, but I really hope to be working on it again soon.

Keep watching this space!

Andy The Retard... IN 3-D!!

Oh yeah! I just finished my maquette project for Goto's Character Design And Storyboarding For Animation class! I made, of course, an Andy The Retard model, and here he is for all to enjoy!!

This is Andy before he went into the oven.
I was terrified that something might happen to him in there!!

And here he is, finished! Pupils drawn on too!!

Pretty sweet, huh? It didn't make the case though, so that's kind of a bummer... Ah well! I have a bunch more strips lined up for you lucky people, so keep your eyes on the prize and visit my blog every day! And then get your friends to do the same!!

Something... different

Here's something different. I realized that Andy makes a great Robin and thus was born...

B@MAN & ROBIN THE WALL-EYED WONDER

I welcome opinions!

26, yes please, and RIGHT HERE

ANDY HITS ON MEL

So here we go, another new Andy strip for you lucky, lucky folks! This time, Andy uses his mad skillz to pick up chicks! Too bad Mel is kind of a bitch! Will he get his ass handed to him on a shiny platter? OR WILL HE JUST GET BEAT UP? Find out next time!

I didn't submit this one yet, so it'll be a while before you'll see this in the District... Ah well!

As an important note, the strips portrayed in the "Andy Strips!" mini and the website are a different story to the ones in the District. What happened was, when Andy got bitten by the dog, instead of actually biting his arm, the dog bit through the barrier between dimensions or something like that. Sure... Then some stuff happened and everything went back in time and everyone's memory was wiped and I SWEAR I planned this from the start. (Wink.)

All joking aside, I would like to create some kind of continuity between the two... So, in an act of defiant parody, SOME DAY, I might do a story to link them and call it... INDEFINITE CRISIS! or something...

I probably never will, but I'm just speaking my mind.

Bonus Post!!

This is a new post, but the one before this is new too! Don't stop reading afterwords!
Seinfeld cartoon rough sketches!
Until next time!

NEW ANDY!!!

HOLY SMOKES! I am 90% sure that I haven't posted this! If I did already, here's an encore.
I submitted it back in November, so it should have been the new District, but since it was a small one with only one page, my PITIFUL seniority lost out to bigger names like Robot Dave and that darn Joe Bevill! So anyhow, here it is, let's hope I can get into the District again!

ANDY REASSURES JAMES

I was a little put out by not being printed, but then again it's not like I'm the only one who wants to be printed. I'll just bide my time 'till I can usurp the throne...

Sorry, I wanted to say "usurp."

A Good Start

Howdy-ho, Andy-fans!

Today was my first day in Goto's class. I can tell this is going to be a very fruitful class! Here's some fruit! Progressive charicatures!





Sorry dude, I'm totally spacing on your name! More later!

First Doodle Of the 1/4

Yeehaw! Only one class into the Quarter and already I have a great doodle! It's also a great idea and I think I might incorporate it into my next mini comic... (after the current one...)

ANDY THE RETARD MEETS BATMAN

I think it would be neat if Batman came to clean up the streets in Andy's neighborhood and Andy gets recruited as Robin. I hear DC sharpening their knives already!